Alaska Sunrise

I see many trucks towing heavy trailers yet there is no weight distributing bars hooked up. I am pretty sure this is wrong. Isn't the weight rating of the stock tow hitch dependent on having these bars properly set up? I was warned early on about the damage that can be done to the frame of a truck (even if the tongue load isn't huge.) Or am I missing something?

RPegram

Very few people who tow utility trailers use any kind of weight distributing hitch. Most utility trailers just are not made to easily use them. Does not make it right or LEGAL. Those little stickers with the weights on them can cost you a lot of money if the operator does not abide by them. Motor Carrier Enforcement can and will stop a vehicle that looks overloaded or has improper equipment. It still amazes me at how many tow their trailers without properly operating lights and brakes.

Dodgezilla

I can tow my trailer just fine with my standard hitch on the truck. It is rated to hold as much as my WDH. Now, when I get out on the highway the truck gets bounced around alot and is generally more unstable w/ the standard hitch. That's when I use the WDH. It really makes the trailer tow a lot more smoothly but it is not mandatory to use it....

Totallyrad

You are absolutely correct. The rating of the factory hitch is totally dependent upon whether you are using a weight distributing hitch or not. The fact that you can move something down the road without the bars has no bearing on whether you should and if you are exceeding the rated capacity of the hitch you're on borrowed time. Should you have an accident you may also incur some unexpected liability.

klx650a2

I have a 14 foot tandem dump trailer that is a pretty heavy, lots of tongue weight and a bumper tow trailer. Its 3500 lbs empty and can carry and extra 10k on top of that. I hook and unhook many times during the week and use it mostly around town and small amount of highway and as long as its loaded properly (most weight over the tandems), there are no issues. My camper trailer which is 6 k loaded, definitely needs the wdh and sway control due to it being so high and catching the wind.

Busboy

The maximum tongue weight with my factory hitch is 500lbs without a WD. I fail to see how almost any trailer over 2000lbs could meet this limit especially loaded. I just sold my 14,000lb 20foot 5ver flatdeck and now have a 14,000lb 18 foot pull behind tandem that I haven't used yet. I'm going to haul it out to the scales empty to weigh it cause who knows. Has anybody actually weighed theirs?

jbgoodtrader

Speaking as a professional RV hauler, it depends on whethere you have a Dually or not. With a Dually (1 ton) you don't usually have sway control or weight-distribution issues, as the leaf springs are stiff enough & the dual-footprint of the rear tires is enough to provide a stable platform for towing... in my experience.

I've seen a lot of RV haulers & none of them will use Sway Control/Weight Distribution Hitches, although I have seen some with the ball mounts that are part of the system.

Now, if you don't have a Dually, then I would use one.

John Good

Alaska Sunrise

I asked a local mechanic today about this. The way it was explained to me was that it doesn't matter if you have a dually or not. What matters is how the receiver (especially the stock one) is mounted to the back part of the truck frame. (Ford, G.M., or Dodge). The tow bracket can actually bend the rear of the frame in certain conditions. Even if your tongue load is not too heavy, the effect of hard or sudden braking, hitting a big bump in the road, etc can be enough to screw up the truck. "Use your W.D. bars!" I was told.

RPegram

The little sticker with all those lines, boxes and writing dictates what you can and cannot do LEGALLY and SAFELY. If you go over those weights in any way, you, the operator are totally responsible legally and for any liability claims. The sticker does not discriminate in any way what kind of trailer you are pulling. There are plenty of lawyers out there who know these laws and can use them against you whether the trailer was a contributing factor in an accident or not. They can make it a factor and financially ruin the operator for the rest of their life. Overloading the hitch from what it is rated for is no different than overloading the bed of the truck or overloading a trailer. They have ratings for a reason. Just because you have done something for years with no problem does not make it legal or safe. If still in doubt, next time you hook up to trailer, load her down and find you a Motor Carrier Officer and let him give you an inspection and weigh you. If your really feeling confident, point out the sticker on the hitch and tell him you are exceeding the manufacturers recommendations and would like to know what he can do to help you remember in the future what this sticker means.

Totallyrad

Follow the recommendations on the hitch. The hitch has been tested and has known limits and those recommendations are to keep you safe and you're load secure.

Another point that folks forget about is the pin that retains the head in the hitch. That pin has to bear the strain of acceleration, deceleration as well as the shock loads created by hard bumps while you are accelerating and decelerating. Overloading the hitch also overloads that pin.

Busboy

I think this is a sticky subject as no one really wants to hook up torsion bars for a measly 999lbs tongue weight, especially if you have a dually, which I believe has the EXACT same factory hitch as the 2500. On top of that no one really wants to weigh their truck to discover that the hitch weight is over the maximum allowed on that tiny sticker even with a weight distribution hitch.
I see bumper pull flatdecks around town all the time but I haven't seen a single one with a WD hitch, and I've been looking.
Has anyone weighed theirs?

Dodgezilla

I had 18,000lb on my hitch a couple weeks ago. Don't know what the tongue weight was though. Definitely too much as even my Timbrens were screaming for mercy......

davidj54

I've weighed my RV more than once. It weighs just a scosh under 6,000 lbs and the tongue weighs 680 more or less (depends on how much I put in the pass-thru) so I always use the WD. Just because a lot of people don't use them doesn't make it right.

Busboy

I think most RV owners with larger RV's use the WD hitch but the flatdeck users don't. If you put a large Bobcat, a track hoe then the equipment, or even just one of our trucks on a flatdeck bumperpull, the hitch weight must be pretty heavy. I beginning to think it was a mistake to sell my 5ver flatdeck and go to a bumper pull, even though I haven't used it yet.

Totallyrad

And that's why I got rid of my bumper pull and went to a GN. The hitch has a 7500# pin weight rating and 30k max trailer weight. My trailer won't come close to that, 3500# vertical load on the hitch and 15k max trailer weight. I can pull my skidsteer and attachments with no worries.